Palma de Mallorca
About 36 hours from the time we awoke on Saturday morning on the ship, we finally arrived in Palma de Mallorca, capital city of the Ballearic Islands, which have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. The main language spoken on the island is Catalan (local dialect mallorqui), with Spanish being the other official language. Fortunately, most people involved in tourism speak Spanish and English at the very least, but are quite multi-lingual. Palma dates back to the early 13th C. Christian reconquest of the Island from the Moors.
We were very happy to settle into the Hotel Blue Bay in Sant Agustin (https://www.mllhotels.com/it/Blue-Bay-hotel-cala-mayor), about four kilometers from Palma, and not to be taking another flight until it's time to go home. We had half board, a lovely ocean view and a swimming pool.
Old town Palma was a bus-ride through windy, hilly streets away. The first day was sunny and we walked and walked, into the centre where the Palau de l'Almundaina and cathedral dominate, through narrow medieval passages and restful squares (placas), along the old City wall (Dalt Murada) to the old Arab baths, still well preserved. For our admission to the baths we got to use a bathroom, a real find as there don't seem to be any public facilities available. The second day, May 1st holiday, the squares were filled........until the skies opened up and everyone made a bee-line for shelter. We found it (and a bathroom) at McDonalds! After that places were much less crowded.
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| Passeig de la Rambla |
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| narrow lane near cathedral |
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| "Lady of Spain" |
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| Palau de l'Almudaina, originally an Islamic fort, later converted to residence for Mallorcan monarchs |
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| artistic tribute to Mallorcan saints |
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| Arab Baths, dating from 12th C. |
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| Palau (L) and Cathedral (R) |
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| Cathedral (La Seu) |
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| Can Rei, Catalan Art Nouveau building |
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| Plaza Mayor after the deluge |
Soller:
After three days in Palma we boarded the vintage narrow-gauge wooden train to Soller, 27 kms. north, in the Serra de Tramuntana.
www.trendesoller.com The train has been travelling this route since 1912.
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| Soller from train above town |
The train passes by olive orchards and through 13 tunnels plus a series of bridges and viaducts, stopping for a view of Soller and the mountains before descending, pulling into the 17th century mansion that houses the train station as well as an art collection of Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso.
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| Picasso's pottery and etchings |
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| breakfast just off the square |
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| Tram to the Port, church spires and train station |
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| "street grunting" in Soller |
Our room was near the square, with the church and many restaurants and shops. The first day we hiked the GR path around and above town down into
Port de Soller where we enjoyed sangria and tapas by the beach.
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| We saw many bicis and their riders |
Though the second day was rainy it wasn't bad enough to keep us from hiking to a couple of villages nearby: Biniaraix and Fornalutx (means 'oven light'). Both towns began as Arab Algeria, or farmsteads. We passed through numerous orange and lemon groves and dry stone walls in the peaceful countryside.
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| an old wash house, Biniaraix |
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| Biniaraix was originally an Arab alqueria, or farmstead, 2 kms from Soller |
Today (Sat. May 5) we picked up our rental car for the drive south to Cala d'Or on the south of the Island. The weather was very wet as we left, and we'd planned to taxi to the Port, but as it was market day in the square, there was not a taxi to be had. We backpacked to the bus station a kilometer away and caught the bus to Port de Soller, where we picked up our Yaris rental, then wound our way around the western coast, stopping for lunch in Banyalbufar. Unfortunately parking was terrible in Deia and Valldemossa, so we didn't stop to explore those towns. Highway Ma 10 skirted the coast, shrouded with fog and rain, sandwiched between the Serra de Tramuntana and the sea.
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| outside Deia |
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west coast Mallorca, near Banyalbufar
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Cala d'Or, Southern Mallorca:
The weather improved as we passed through
Palma en route to the south coast. We made our way down quickly but got confused in the maze that is the affordable European package holiday destination of
Cala d'Or. People either know where a hotel is or they don't; addresses don't help. Prinsotel Alba (
https://www.prinsotel.es/en/hotels-cala-dor/prinsotel-alba.html) is located on
Cala Gran, one of six calas (coves) in the area and where many, many large hotels are located. Ours was lovely and spacious, and we enjoyed the modernity and convenience, easily 5 times as roomy as our room in Soller, for virtually the same price. We were ready for a kitchen of our own too; it was good not to have to do the "restaurant stroll" in the evening.
Mallorca has jokingly been referred to as the "17th Federal state of Germany" giving you an idea of where most of the tourists are from. There is no doubt it is a beautiful resort area but you have to share it with many others. We did swim in the Mediterranean but it was colder than Vancouver in the summer, not surprising as it was so early in the season.
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| Cala Esmeralda |
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| wildflowers in Mondrago Natural Park |
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| Parc Natural de Mondrago |
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lunch at Pura-Vida, Cala Figuera, where the staff spoke German to us
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| Porto Cristo |
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poppy field on the south coast
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On our last day, on our way to the airport, we stopped for lunch at La Caricola in the nearby fishing village of Portopetro where I enjoyed calamari and Jim (not so much) rabbit at a table on the water. And then it was back to Palma for our Easy Jet flight to London Gatwick and home the next day on Air Transit.
